(11a) The certain men have gone in the way of Cain.
Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain,
a. The way of Cain: Cain’s story is found in Genesis 4. Each of the sons of Adam and Eve brought an offering to the Lord. Cain (being a farmer) brought an offering from his harvest. Abel (being a shepherd) brought an offering from his flocks. God accepted Abel’s offering, but He rejected Cain’s sacrifice.
i. Many people assume that because Abel brought a blood sacrifice and Cain brought a grain sacrifice, that the difference between the two offerings was sacrificial blood. But the real difference was between faith and unbelief. Hebrews 11:4 makes this plain: By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
ii. Cain’s sacrifice was probably more pleasing to the senses than the carcass of a dead lamb. But his sacrifice was offered without faith, and therefore it was unacceptable to God. You can give to God whatever you have or whatever you are, but you must offer it in faith.
b. The way of Cain: Genesis 4:5 says that after God rejected his sacrifice, Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. He became angry because he knew he was rejected by God. In a fit of anger Cain murdered Abel, and then he lied about it to God.
i. 1 John 3:12 tells us that Cain murdered his brother because Abel’s works were righteous (by faith), while Cain’s own were wicked. Cain’s lack was not in works, but in faith.
c. The way of Cain: Jude says that Cain typifies a way that the certain men follow in. It is the way of unbelief and empty religion, which leads to jealousy, persecution of the truly godly, and eventually to murderous anger.
i. There is no greater curse on the earth than empty, vain religion; those who have a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5). No wonder Paul added, and from such people turn away!
ii. Many Christians are afraid of secular humanism or atheism or the world. But dead religion is far more dangerous, and sends more people to hell than anything else. These certain men were in the way of Cain, which is the way of dead religion.
2. (11b) The certain men are in the error of Balaam.
Have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit,
a. The error of Balaam: Balaam’s story is in Numbers 22 to 25 and 31. During the time of the Exodus, Israel advanced to the land of Moab, after defeating the Amorites. When the Israelites came near, King Balak of Moab sought the help of a prophet named Balaam.
i. The first delegation from King Balak arrived and God told Balaam to have nothing to do with them. God’s initial words to Balaam were, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12).
ii. After the first visit another, more prestigious delegation came with great riches. Balaam wanted to go with them and God allowed him to go. Balaam lusted after the riches and prestige offered to him and God gave him over to his own sin.
iii. God warned Balaam to turn back when he was on the way to see Balak. Yet his heart was set on the rich reward King Balak promised and he continued on. Balaam even ignored a talking donkey, sent to warn him to turn back.
iv. Balaam knew that he has done wrong. In Numbers 22:34, he said to God I have sinned… Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back. But he didn’t turn back. He continued on, refusing to see that when God says no, we must take it as a no. Instead, God gave Balaam what his sinful heart desired.
v. After meeting with King Balak of Moab, Balaam prophesied over Israel four times. But as he spoke forth God’s word, he did not curse Israel – instead he blessed her each time. When he was unsuccessful in cursing Israel, Balaam advised Balak on how to bring Israel under a curse. Instead of trying to have a prophet curse Israel, he should lead her into fornication and idolatry and then God would curse a disobedient Israel.
vi. Balak did just that, sending his young women into the camp of Israel to lead Israel into sexual immorality and idolatry. Because of the people’s sin, God did curse Israel – He brought a plague of judgment upon Israel that killed 24,000. Therefore Balaam was guilty of the greatest of sins: deliberately leading others into sin. Worse yet, he did it for money.
b. Greedily in the error of Balaam for profit: The greedy error of Balaam was that he was willing to compromise everything for money. The certain men Jude warned about had the same heart.
i. Many Christians would never deny Jesus under persecution, but might deny Him if offered a large sum of money. There is not a single sin that corrupt man will not commit for the sake of money. Covetousness is such a dangerous sin that it killed Jesus – 30 pieces of silver helped put Jesus on the cross.
ii. Have run greedily is literally “they were poured out” (Robertson). This is a strong picture of excessive indulgence. But Paul also uses the same term for the extravagant way God loves us: the love of God has been poured out in our hearts (Romans 5:5).
3. (11c) The certain men live out the rebellion of Korah.
And perished in the rebellion of Korah.
a. The rebellion of Korah: Korah’s story is found in Numbers 16. He was a prominent man in Israel, and one day came to Moses, saying, You take too much upon yourself, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourself about the congregation of the LORD? (Numbers 16:3) Korah and his followers resented the authority God gave to Moses and Aaron.
i. When Korah said this, Moses fell on his face, knowing God’s judgment would soon come. Moses then proposed a test: each group took censers (for burning incense) and came before the Lord. The Lord Himself would choose which man He wanted to represent Him: Moses or Korah.
ii. When they both came before God, the Lord told Moses to step away. Then, the ground opened up and swallowed Korah and his followers. After that, fire came down from heaven and burned up all of his supporters. They all perished.
b. Rebellion: Korah was a Levite, but not of the priestly family of Aaron. As a Levite, he had had his own God-appointed sphere of ministry, yet he was not content with it. He wanted the ministry and the authority of Moses.
i. Korah needed to learn this essential lesson: we should work hard to fulfill everything God has called us to be. At the same time, we should never try to be what God has not called us to be.
c. Therebellion of Korah: This was also a rejection of God’s appointed leaders, especially God’s appointed Mediator. When the certain men rejected authority and spoke evil against dignitaries, they walked in the rebellion of Korah.
i. The rebellion of Korah “lies in the broader idea of a contemptuous and determined assertion of self against divinely appointed ordinances.” (Salmond, The Pulpit Commentary)
ii. These three men came from quite different backgrounds: Cain was a farmer, Balaam was a prophet, and Korah was a leader in Israel. Apostasy is never confined to one group of people. “There are apostates in the pulpit, in the palace, and in the poorhouse.” (Coder)
E. What the future holds for these certain men.
1. (12-13) A vivid description of the depravity of these certain men.
These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
a. Spots in your love feasts: The early Christians often met for a common meal, something like a potluck dinner. They called these meals love feasts, or “Agape Feasts.” When these certain men came, they were serving only themselves. They ate greedily at the love feasts while others went hungry.
i. At the Agape Feast, everybody brought what they could – some a little, some a lot; but they all shared it together. For some slaves who were Christians it might have been the only decent meal they regularly ate. The selfishness of these certain men spoiled the fellowship. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 describes a similar problem in the Corinthian church.
ii. It always spoils fellowship when we come to church with a selfish “bless me” attitude. Many who would never eat selfishly at a church meal still come to church concerned with serving only themselves.
iii. Spots: Some Greek scholars think this word should be translated “hidden rocks” instead of spots. One way or another, it doesn’t make much real difference to the meaning of the passage.
iv. Serving only themselves: Literally in the ancient Greek this is “shepherding themselves” (Robertson). They were shepherds of a sort – but only shepherding themselves.
b. Clouds without water, carried by the winds: Clouds without water are good for nothing. They bring no life-giving rain and they only block out the sun. They exist just for themselves. The certain men were like these clouds.
i. Once while driving by a factory, my daughter Aan-Sofie looked at the billows of white smoke coming from the smoke stacks. She said, “That’s where they make clouds!” These certain men were like those empty clouds – good for nothing, carried by the winds, floating on the breeze from one fad to another.
c. Late autumn trees without fruit: By late autumn, trees should have fruit. But these certain men did not bear fruit even when they should. They were like trees that only take instead of give.
d. Raging waves of the sea: For modern man, the sea is often a thing of beauty. But to ancient man, especially in Biblical cultures, the sea was an unmanageable terror. Isaiah 57:20 expresses this idea: But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. These certain men were busy and active like the raging waves of the sea, but all it brought was foaming up their own shame.
i. Busyness is no mark of correctness. The fruit of these men was like the foam or scum at the seashore. Jude has in mind the ugly shoreline after a storm has washed up all sorts of driftwood, seaweed and debris.
e. Wandering stars: Like comets streaking through the sky, these certain men astonished the world for a time, and then vanished into darkness. An unpredictable star was no good for guidance and navigation. Even so these deceivers were useless and untrustworthy.
f. Blackness of darkness forever: This described their destiny. Unless they repent, they would end up in hell – and be there forever.
i. The punishment of hell is forever because a mere man is paying for his own sins, offering an imperfect sacrifice which must be repeated over and over again for eternity. A perfect man can offer a single sacrifice; but an imperfect man must continually offer a sacrifice.
ii. Our obligations to God are infinite and can therefore only be satisfied in Jesus, an infinite person
2. (14-15) The certainty of judgment upon these certain men.
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
a. Now Enoch: Here Jude quoted from Enoch, who is described in Genesis 5 and mentioned in Hebrews 11. The ancient book of Enoch was not received as Scripture, but it was highly respected among both the Jews and early Christians.
i. “Tertullian tells us that the book of Enoch’s prophecies were preserved by Noah in the ark, and that they continued and were read until the times of the apostles. But because they contained many famous testimonies concerning Jesus Christ, the Jews out of malice suppressed and abolished the whole book.” (Trapp)
ii. Jude did not quote from Enoch to tell us anything new, but to give a vivid description of what the Bible already teaches. The Apostle Paul also quoted non-Biblical sources on at least three different occasions (Acts 17:28, 1 Corinthians 15:33 and Titus 1:12). This wasn’t to proclaim a new truth, but to support an already established Biblical principle.
iii. Jude’s quoting of the book of Enoch doesn’t mean that the whole book of Enoch inspired Scripture – only the portion Jude quotes. In the same way, when Paul quoted a pagan poet, he didn’t mean that the entire work of the poet was inspired by God.
b. To convict all who are ungodly: In this quotation from the book of Enoch Jude emphasized the words all and ungodly. God is coming to judge all of the ungodly.
c. To execute judgment on all: Many people take the judgment of God lightly. But the most important question in the world is “Will God judge me? Am I accountable to Him?” If we are truly accountable to God, we are fools if we do not prepare to face that judgment.
i. Think of someone arrested for a crime, with a date to appear in court – but made absolutely no preparation for his appearance before the judge. That person would be a fool. We shouldn’t be so foolish, and instead take advantage of our court-appointed advocate – Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1).
3. (16-18) The methods of the certain men.
These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.
a. Grumblers, complainers… they mouth great swelling words, flattering people: Jude noticed that their methods all revolved around words. On top of their questionable lives, they were essentially a people of deception, departing from the foundation of Jesus Christ, and the apostles and prophets.
b. These are grumblers, complainers: These people were complainers. It has rightly been observed that whenever a man gets out of touch with God, he is likely to begin complaining about something.
i. Grumbling “is to insult the God who gives us all things; it is to forget that whatever befalls us, nothing can separate us from His love, nor deprive us of that most priceless of all treasures, the Lord’s presence in our lives.” (Green)
ii. “You know the sort of people alluded to here, nothing ever satisfies them. They are discontented even with the gospel. The bread of heaven must be cut into three pieces, and served on dainty napkins, or else they cannot eat it; and very soon their soul hates even this light bread. There is no way by which a Christian man can serve God so as to please them. They will pick holes in every preacher’s coat; and if the great High Priest himself were here, they would find fault with the color of the stones of his breastplate.” (Spurgeon)
c. Flattering people: These certain men knew how to use smooth, flattering words to get an advantage over other people. They would say anything – good or bad – to get an advantage.
d. But you, beloved, remember: We are to be different. We are to remember what Jesus and the apostles said, which were spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God is always the answer to dangers in or out of the church.
i. The apostles had warned that just these things would happen; and even more so as the day approaches: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
e. There would be mockers in the last time: Perhaps Jude had in mind those who mock the idea of Jesus’ return. Or he may mean the kind of men who mock those who don’t go along the same path of destruction they travel on.
i. Mockers… who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts: Those who live according to their own ungodly lusts love to mock those who want to please God. Jude wants Christians to expect this kind of mocking, so they won’t be surprised by it.
4. (19) The spiritual status of these certain men.
These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
a. These are sensual persons: Essentially, these men were not spiritual; they were carnal and insensitive to the Holy Spirit.
i. Sensual in this context has nothing to do with sexual attractiveness. It describes the person who lives only by and for what he can get through his physical senses, and he lives this way selfishly. His motto is, “If it feels good, do it” or, “How can it be wrong if it feels so right?”
b. Who cause divisions: These certain men had an instinct to separate themselves and make divisions. “The word, found only once in the Bible, denotes those superior people who keep themselves to themselves – Christian Pharisees.” (Green)
c. Not having the Spirit: This same description could be written over many churches, or church projects, or evangelism campaigns, or home groups, or even individual Christian lives. The church and the world truly need genuinely spiritual men and women today.
F. What to do about the danger of the certain men.
Significantly, Jude does not tell us to attack the certain men who are a danger to the church. Instead, he tells us to focus on our walk with the Lord, help others affected by the certain men, and to focus on God. We simply are to pay the certain men no attention, except for what is necessary for our warning. God will take care of them.